Inoki converted to Shia Islam in 1990 during a pilgrimage to Karbala, the Shiite holy city in Iraq. He was in Iraq successfully negotiating for the release of several Japanese hostages
Antonio Inoki was extremely popular in Pakistan. In 1976, Inoki was challenged by Pakistani wrestler Akram aka “Akki” and 50,000 spectators showed up at the National Stadium Karachi to watch the match.
As a representative of the "Sports and Peace" party, Inoki managed to negotiate with Saddam Hussain for the release of 36 Japanese hostages in 1990. In 1995 he helped organize and headlined a "for peace" wrestling event in North Korea which drew over 200,000 fans to the arena.
Hogan invented a story that he once almost killed Inoki in the ring, but he was revived by CPR, and that the Japanese Mafia wanted to kill Hogan in retaliation. not even close to the truth
Whether you agreed with Inoki’s decisions as a businessman/booker for New Japan (and that’s a whole different discussion), there’s no doubt he was THE influence on Japanese wrestling for the last several decades.